113th CONGRESS REORGANIZES LEGISLATURE REMAINS SPLIT:
DEMOCRATS IN THE SENATE, REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE
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he 113th Congress has reorganized, with several key issues of concern to mail handlers to be addressed during the coming months and years. Officially, the new Congress was sworn in on January 3, 2013, several weeks before President Obama was inaugurated for his second term. A total of 98 Members of Congress were newly elected, 84 in the House of Representatives and 14 in the Senate. This 113th Congress is under a tremendous amount of pressure to improve upon the disastrous record of its predecessor, the 112th Congress, which has been named the do-nothing Congress because by most accounts it was the least productive session in the modern political era. As noted, the November 2012 national elections made clear that President Barack Obama and his administration would continue to control the executive branch, while the Democratic Party majority in the Senate also would remain in place (with a split of 55-45). But the elections also confirmed the majority status of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, albeit with a slightly smaller margin (the Republicans lost ten seats, creating a majority margin of 232 to 200, with 3 vacancies).
The 113th Congress As a result of these changes, the new Congress also has instituted some significant changes in its substructure, including changes on the major committees with jurisdiction over legislation relevant to the Postal Service, mail handlers, and other postal employees. In the Senate, the crucial postal issues primarily fall within the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Last year’s chairman and ranking minority member have moved on (Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) to retirement, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) to other committees), so the full Committee is controlled by its new chairman, Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) and its new ranking minority member, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK). Senator Carper has made clear that postal reform issues will be handled by the full Committee, rather than a Subcommittee, so Senators Carper and Coburn will have the most influence over all of the postal issues. Here are the other members of the full Senate Committee during the 113th Congress, covering all of 2013 and 2014. You will certainly notice that the Committee membership is dominated by smaller, rural, less urban states, with a full complement of two Senators from Wisconsin:
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Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Democrats Republicans Tom Carper (DE), Chair Carl Levin (MI) Mark L. Pryor (AR) Mary L. Landrieu (LA) Claire McCaskill (MO) Jon Tester (MT) Mark Begich (AK) Tammy Baldwin (WI) Hiedi Heitkamp (ND)
Tom Coburn (OK), Ranking Member John McCain (AZ) Ron Johnson (WI) Rob Portman (OH) Rand Paul (KY) Michael B. Enzi (WY) Kelly Ayotte (NH)
In the House, the continuing Republican majority has created less upheaval in its Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. After John Boehner (R-OH) was re-elected as the Speaker of the House, Congressman Darrell E. Issa (R-CA) was again named as the Chair of the full House Committee, with Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) again assuming the role of ranking minority member. The jurisdiction and membership of the full Committee and its most important Subcommittee is set out below:
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Republicans Democrats Darrell E. Issa (CA), Chair John L. Mica (FL) Michael Turner (OH) John J. Duncan (TN) Patrick T. McHenry (NC) Jim Jordan (OH) Jason Chaffetz (UT) Tim Walberg (MI)
Elijah Cummings (MD), Ranking Member Carolyn Maloney (NY) Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) John Tierney (MA) William Lacy Clay (MO) Stephen Lynch (MA) Jim Cooper (TN) Gerald Connolly (VA) Spring 2013
5/21/13 9:05 AM